Distant Relatives: Metropolis and District 9

Robert here, with my series Distant Relatives, where we look at two films, (one classic, one modern) related through a common theme and ask what their similarities and differences can tell us about the evolution of cinema.

Upstairs/Downstairs

They tell bird owners to avoid putting your new pet in one of those high hanging Tweety-bird cages.  See, if the bird spends most of his time positioned above you, he'll develop a sense of superiority and will be impossible to teach and train.  Just in case the overworld/underworld concept started to seem like a common and cliched metaphor, it doesn't hurt to remember that it's a fact of nature. Those who are above see themselves as greater than those who are below.  And if it transcends animal species here on Earth then why not throughout the universe?  Which is why it makes so much sense that the aliens of District 9 couldn't be allowed to live in their space ship towering high in the sky but had to be moved onto the ground and given the nickname "prawn" after an animal that mucks about far below us humans.  Metropolis classically uses the conceit and creates a reality where the workers live below the ground while the aristocracy lives in skyscrapers high above, and extends it to Biblical dimension, with workers being gobbled up in fantasy by the demon Moloch, rich people cavorting around overworld places called the "Eternal Gardens" and the central skyscraper the "New Tower of Babel."

Like much science fiction that comments on social justice issues, we're presented in both films with evil corporatedom.  In Metropolis, Joh Frederson is the founder and autocratic force behind the city.  In District 9 the wonderfully generically named Multinational United is the military company tasked with relocating the slum based aliens (because surely no government wants to do it).  In both cases, someone from deep within this corporate atmosphere will penetrate the "underworld" and come to an understanding, and in both cases it's a privileged son (or son-in-law).  At the front, Freder and Wikus van de Merwe seem like they couldn't be more different.  Frederson is a playboy and van de Merwe is a schlub (who hasn't even the decency to have been born into his luck) but both men are fated to bridge the gap between two very different worlds.  It's no surprise given their strength or weakness of personality that Freder ventures down into the unknown because of passion and cunning.  Van der Merwe goes because he's told.

Hero/Villain

Both District 9 and Metropolis are burdened with heroes that we, the audience, aren't likely to want to identify with.  Metropolis gets around this by making its protagonist display the heroism and moral fortitude that we'd all like to believe we'd have given his situation.  He acts out of love and then out of common decency.  Van der Merwe is a stooge and when he grows a conscience it's only in the most extreme of situations, when he is forced to literally live in the skin of the "prawns" and witness the inhumanity toward them.  Perhaps because in modern times we simply can't believe a man of business would become a moral champion without being dragged into it kicking or screaming.  Perhaps it's because audiences no longer identify with unapologetic heroes (even superheros these days are painted with serious amounts of pathos and self-doubt).  However, no one wants to identify with a racist.  District 9 director Blomkamp cleverly provides us with a tough road to tolerance, making his aliens disgusting, unsettling, and violent creatures.  Van der Merwe does eventually capture our sympathies because we see in him, not immediate heroism, but the capacity to learn and change.  Our standards for heroism have changed in eighty years, or just gotten more realistic.  And eventually, Van der Merwe too acts out of love.

The original bio-technology

 It's interesting that while both men are eventually compelled by the injustices they see, there is always that underlying compulsion to attain or re-attain the woman they love.  Whether that's selfishness or not - well neither film is exactly a lesson in Ayn Rand Objectivisim.   Then again, the lesson of Metropolis isn't exactly "Comrades Unite!" either, though the juxtaposition of the workers and aristocrats isn't far from the Soviet revolution silents of that same period.  Instead the message is "The mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart," a somewhat muddled and sentimental cry toward empathy all around.  Not so for District 9.  While our "good guy" situation may be murky, there are certainly bad guys and they must be defeated, through destruction if necessary.  In Metropolis the only villain set for destruction is the evil scientist Rotwang.  Even Frederson gets inexplicably redeemed.  In the time between the two films, one-dimensional heroes have made way for one-dimensional villains.  This makes it easier when the good guys win, if they win.  Unfortunately in that same amount of time, that conclusion has gotten much less inevitable.


Hope/Uncertainty

Metropolis ends on a pretty high note.  Foes are vanquished.  Love is founds.  Mutual respects are earned.  Societal breakdown is avoided.  At the end of District 9, what we're left with is hope.  We're presented with the possibility of an eventual happy ending.  When you think of the characters of District 9 in five or ten years, do you see a happy ending?  Chances are you haven't filled one in yet, and are hesitant to doing so.  This is because the filmmakers have us exactly where they want us.  For a movie influenced so strongly and apparently by the recent history of Apartheid in South Africa, it could never in good conscience end by the hands and the head meeting with the heart.  All is well.  Intolerance is defeated.  It has to present the struggle for equality as one with no end, just ongoing hope.  Curiously in this particularly pessimistic fable, the only real solution is the permanent separation of the human and alien class.  Metropolis certainly wasn't errant to suggest peaceful protest, but nearly a century later after war, corruption, holocaust and unending civil rights struggle, the idea may not play as well at the multiplex.  Even Fritz Lang eventually said "You cannot make a social-conscious picture in which you say that the intermediary between the hand and the brain is the heart. I mean, that's a fairy tale."

Metropolis is indeed a fairy tale.  That's one of the major differences between the two films and indicative of how the science fiction genre has evolved.  Metropolis is a big intentionally artificial stylized production with expressionist sets, wild dream sequences and eventually the Whore of Babylon running about.  It's not set in our reality but is a parable. District 9 is presented in a semi-documentary style, heavy on realism, going to lengths to redefine our history in a way we'll accept.  It thrives on its believability. It's worth noting that the high-concept of District 9 propelled it to surprise independent film success, although the backing Peter Jackson didn't hurt, nor did the action movie finale (which is why one must wonder if the film promotes just revolution as a social philosophy or a reason to get some explosions into the picture).  Metropolis's high concept on the other hand lead to political and critical controversy (enjoy this take down by dissenter H.G. Welles), highly edited, nearly incoherent versions.  Therein perhaps lies the main lesson in the comparison of these two films.  Anyone looking to stir up controversy today should tackle a subject other than the eternal, unresolvable struggle between the haves and have-nots.  Which may not necessarily be such a good sign of progress.  Because while we almost all now agree with the triumphantness of the statement, we've also accepted the inevitability of the premise.

This is Happening Right Now in Johannesburg!

Okay, not *right now* but a half hour ago. I woke up late. It's 10:00 AM here in NYC but apparently parties are still raging even as I type over in Johannesburg where it's 4 PM now. The alien ship that's been hovering over the city forever actually seemed to wake up and fly away. It's unclear what happened to Wikus.

I'd like to say this story is over. It appears to be. But I'm not sure why Johannesburg is celebrating. There's still a ton of alien prawns on the ground and the evictions and the new district to settle. And what if the mother ship returns? Someone should check in with this man to see if they will. Won't they be angry if they do?

two hours before that...
We hadn't heard any Wikus alien STD new for almost two days. But there was a terrorist bombing shortly after the last hospital security footage of Wikus Van Der Merwe was captured. Then lost of commotion under the ship in District 9. I'm sure we'll hear more.


Approximately 42/43 hours before that?


He doesn't seem to getting any worse. There's something so calming about sunsets (outside of say vampire movies) and Wikus needed a good night's sleep most of all. Coming right up I'm sure. It looks like he's had a meal and found a coat and stolen a phone. One of these calls his wife will pick up. Everything will be fine. I feel safe in turning of the South African news for awhile. Good luck, Wikus!

about 5 hours ago...
I'm sorry I'm laughing.


It's a nervous reaction. How Humiliating! We thought something was wrong with his arm but over the television they're saying that the MNU employee has contracted a dangerous alien STD. Boy did he clear that restaurant fast. Günters must be located right next to the hospital.

4 minutes before that embarrassment...
This just in from Johannesburg [It's 4:09 PM there, six hours earlier here in NYC]. Reports confirm that this IS the newly promoted MNU man Wikus Van Der Merwe. They sounded the alarm 43 minutes ago and he's still running through the hospital corridors as you can see on this monitor. 43 minutes of running. This place must be fooking huge.

The escapee

[a time stamp detail]

33 minutes before that...
OK. Something's definitely happening now. RIGHT NOW in this hospital in Johannesburg. 3:26 PM, August 11th ...it's six hours later there.


There appears to have been a scuffle and someone --on the floor, what -- has hit an alarm? Wait. This can't be Wikus?!?

previous entry, 17 hours ago...

Wikus's wife still hasn't heard from him. The random images we've been receiving suddenly aren't dated. We don't know if they're current or from hours ago at this point. The time on the internal cameras -- well who can make sense of the numbers. They seem to be in conflict. But one things certain: This man hasn't slept.


Why are MNU officers torturing one of their own? He's bleeding.

thirteen hours before that
This is not going well...

What is this? What are they doing to these prawns?

I don't think this hospital is treating this man very well. Something is seriously wrong with his arm. I'm about to go to bed but it's 7 AM in South Africa. They've kept him awake all night sticking things in his arm, wheeling him around and even hosing him down. Now they're talking about "pain threshold tests". WTF? He has no idea where he is anymore. Nobody has told his wife anything. For Christ sakes, where are they taking him?

7 or 8 hours before that. I may have lost an hour. Exhaustion settling in.


It's 10:00 PM in Johannesburg at this very second. I'm sure they'll see her husband soon. Everything's going to be all right!

a short time before that
Crap. That surprise party was ill-timed. I hope no one was really looking forward to eating cake. Maybe they should take him to the hospital?


an hour or so before that...


After the day he's had, we bet Wikus Van De Merwe is glad to be home... Home, Quiet Home. He's just pulling into his driveway now.

5 hours and 23 minutes before that...

His days of flouting the law are over

[a time stamp detail of the incident]

We read over the wire that MNU officers have started handing out evacuation notices in District 9. Things aren't going so smoothly.

roughly half an hour before that...

This has got the markings there of some--something, it's definitely alien. But it's not a weapon. But I don't trust it. No, I don't trust anyt---

Uh-oh.
District 9
* Sharlto Copley

Awardage: Breakthrough & Body of Work

We're not quite done with the films of 2009 yet. Soon. Very soon. Even if it doesn't seem like it, I'm working as fast as I can. Two more prizes now. The Body of Work prize is for multiple performances. This doesn't always work like a consolation "sorry, I didn't nominate you and congratulations on your Oscar success this year!" category but this year it works so much like that that I'm wondering if I should do away with the category? Thoughts?


Then there's Breakthrough for people that won deserved big(ger) attention this year. You've already guessed that this is mostly about Michael Fassbender. I can't help myself! Fassbender's "year" refused to be defined by the Gregorian calendar. Hunger's release was painfully stretched out and so was Fish Tank's. The gods of distribution have determined that he's the breakthrough of 2008, 2009 and 2010 depending on your zip code. It's very confusing... and global. And we hope he has many more years, however loosely defined, ahead of him.

The breakthrough category is always a bit blurry. Sometimes people have been around and I haven't noticed them. But since I do a fairly good job of noticing new actors, I don't abuse it as much as mainstream awards shows do. Of the five recipients: Sharlito Copley, Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, Catalina Saveedra and Sam Worthington only one is actually a "debut". That'd be Mr. Copley in District 9 but since it never felt anything like a debut, it's most definitely a breakthrough. How did he do that the first time out?

One odd but important note: I'm not even sure I liked Tom Hardy's performance in the experimental biopic Bronson. But I found it so committed to its own eccentricity and to the movie's balls out strangeness that I had to admire it even as I had no idea what it was or if it was too much of what it was. If you've seen it, maybe you'll understand.

Honors in this category come down to one question: "Do I want to see them in another movie?" and then a defining follow up "How quickly do i want to see said movie?" The answers must be "hell yes!" and "NOW".

The Awards

TECHNICALITY: Before you ask, Carey Mulligan and Gabby Sidibe were ineligible for the FiLM BiTCH Award in the Breakthrough category since they were nominated in one of the big four categories. It's my way of spreading the wealth.
*

Best Picture and The Oscars. Same As It Ever Was?

In the end, didn't we basically end up where we always do with Best Picture: a mix of message movies, epics, dramas and war films. Same as it ever was only more diversely populated. We definitely did not end up where we usually do with Best Director: a woman, white men of different generations, a gay black man? It's still kind of amazing, right?


Things that got AMPAS all hot and bothered this year: the color blue and/or flying (Avatar, Up, Up in the Air), race (Avatar, Blind Side, District 9, Precious), thinly disquised allegories (Avatar, District 9, The Hurt Locker), young girls coming-of-age (An Education, Precious), existential crises (A Serious Man, Up in the Air), war (The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds) and illiteracy (Precious, Blind Side, Basterds).

Things that AMPAS dated but couldn't commit to: race dramas that didn't star aliens, Sandra Bullock or illiterate black kids (Invictus with 2 big nominations), stage bound musicals about cinema (Nine with 4 nominations)

Things that turned AMPAS off: literacy (Bright Star), manboy comedies (500 Days of Summer, The Hangover) the apocalypse (The Road) and live-action children with animated imaginations (Where the Wild Things Are, The Lovely Bones).

Predictions? I did pretty well on my complete predictions scoring 86% correct in the big eight categories, 77% if you count the technical categories. And if you include the shorts and the docs which most people aren't foolish enough to try and predict, it falls to a less impressive but respectable 72%. But I got the two hardest ones: The Blind Side and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart. So uh, "yay me!" he said sheepishly.

I am less concerned with statistics than most pundits because what I love best is trying to catch the weird detours or catching things really early. You have to take risks if you hope to do that. While I'm still proud that I never predicted and always doubted Daniel Day-Lewis making the Actor list for Nine (I took a lot of heat for that one), I was shaking my head today looking at my "year in advance" predictions. I totally fell for ALL of the majors that didn't pan out: Invictus, The Lovely Bones, Nine and Public Enemies. Oy. This is my way of saying that it was one of my least impressive "year in advance" showings so that either means I've lost it (possible) or the year was a bit hard to predict before it really got going (equally possible).

At least I never bought that weird media meme that 'ANYTHING could be a Best Picture nominee' (The Hangover! Star Trek!) as if there were 35 spots open and they had replaced the entire Academy membership with randomly selected moviegoers of mystery tastes.

Release Dates.
It's a quirk of mine that I care so much about these. Many movie addicts are content to just wait until December to see movies that hope to wow adults with a mix of subject matter, ambition, and big stars. I prefer to see that type of movie intermingled with all the other types of movies all year long. Can you imagine eating food the way movies are released: you may only eat grains in the spring, vegetables in the fall, desserts in the summer and sandwiches in the winter! BO-RING. So I thought I'd break down the release dates and how they're reflected in the Oscar nominations.


The chart to the left clearly shows that you don't need to be a December release to win the highest honor (a best picture nomination). In fact, you could argue that December is the likeliest time to fail if you have gold statues on your mind. The Lovely Bones, Nine and Invictus were all somewhat crushed by the weight of expectations implied by their release dates. But unfortunately, the chart to the right reiterates why the studios cram everything into one month. Even though December isn't hogging the best picture spotlight at all (The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds and Avatar lead the race and they're spread out:June, August, December) you're still more likely to win nominations in random categories if you come out late in the year. Even if people aren't that into you (see the three December failures again). Would The Young Victoria or Crazy Heart be up for 3 Oscars each if they'd been released in May? Would Bright Star be up for the tech prizes it definitely deserved had it opened in December?

Just about the worst news for we devout year-long moviegoers is that the dread "qualifying release" -- wherein a movie only pretends to come out but doesn't -- actually worked this year. It had been failing in recent years but I fear it'll be back with a vengeance after these successes. The Last Station managed two major nods, despite that "f*** you moviegoers!" tactic. The Secret of Kells, the surprise animated feature nominee, also refused to let you see it before seeking Oscar's seal of approval.

Why did it take me so long to speak to you today? Real life interfered. Plus, in more related news, today marked my first ever live news interviews which were broadcast somewhere in London and Canada respectively. If you saw or heard me, I apologize! You see, I do a lot of talking. And I have a head. And but I am still learning to combine the two... don't call me for your documentary just yet!

Actor and Actress Trivia? You know you want it.
The Oscar Map. Find out which actors and movies you're closest to.

Now that you've had a few hours to think about the nominations, what's still bothering you? Or do you think the Academy basically done good?

"An Education: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire"

What exactly would An Education: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire look like, Mr George Clooney? One can only imagine. Just last week at my own blog, Stale Popcorn, I imagined Mo'Nique's "Mary Jones" as a twist on James Cameron's Terminator T-1000 character, but I think transplanting Lee Daniels' tale of Claireece "Precious" Jones to 1960s England is a little bit out of my reach, but I'll give it a try.


Perhaps instead of Jenny Miller's (Carey Mulligans) parents being the class-struck doters that they are they are instead evil and monstrous as personified by Mo'Nique. That would certainly push Jenny into the arms of Peter Sarsgaard even further, even once she realised his hidden secrets. Or maybe Jenny, instead of being a smart and talented musician, she is an illiterate and morbidly obese teen who steals fried chicken and gets impregnated by the creepy, but "light-skinned", Sarsgaard. The possibilities are... well, not exactly endless, but it's fun to play around.

Makes me want to play musical chairs with the other films from the season. How about a musical about the existential crises that befall a United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal crew in the Iraq war? Throw in some of The Last Station and Jeremy Renner can sing his big number "War, What Is It Good For?" to Leo Tolstoy and you know Elaine Benes would be a fan! Maybe George Clooney can catch the wrong plane and end up flying to Paradise Falls with a crotchety old man and annoying child in tow. What about a movie in which aliens land in Johannesburg, South Africa, and instead of waging war they challenge the Springboks to a game of rugby. It can be called Distvictus! Or Inglourious Avatars? You'd have to make up your own story for that one.

Do you have any mix-and-match movies you'd like to see brought to life out of the embers of this awards season?

USC Scripters Awards Ignores Its Programming, Loves the Prawns

Here's how the USC Scripters, an annual book-to-screen honors organization describes itself on their own website

Established in 1988, the USC Libraries Scripter Award is an honor bestowed annually by the Friends of the USC Libraries in recognition of the best film adaptation of a book or novella, and is given to both the author and screenwriter. By honoring the literary artistry and collaborative process of turning a book into a screenplay and ultimately into a film, this unique award acknowledges the full spectrum of the writers' creative process.

<--- [drawing source]

So... yeah.

So I'm not sure how District 9 was even eligible, since it's based on a short film, but these 'Library Friends' went there anyway. Are they also experiencing inexplicable cravings for catfood?!?

Their nominees:

• Crazy Heart
• District 9
• An Education
• Precious
• Up in the Air

Crazy Heart and District 9 sure are picking up last minute awards steam, aren't they? I'm happy for District 9 even if it isn't one of my "favorites" just because it's such a nontraditional choice for awards season glory and more thinking outside the box is always good. This could well be the Oscar Adapted Screenplay list, too, although there's a number of other possibilities: Invictus, In the Loop, Where the Wild Things Are (I realize that's just me dreaming... but seriously, how hard must that have been to adapt?!), The Road, The Informant!, A Single Man and though I doubt it's happening now I suppose a posthumous nod for Anthony Minghella on Nine would occur to at least some voters.

The Crazy Heart case makes me a little befuddled, too. It made Kate Winslet "come undone" but it didn't do much for me at all apart from Bridges and the music (both wonderful). I'm not sure what people are seeing in it otherwise. Or are two elements enough to make a movie one of the year's bests? I saw something overly familiar and repetitive when I looked at it. But I should stop resenting it* pronto and just love that they're finally going to get around to honoring my Jeff Bridges.

*I can't help it. I'm wired to resent those naked "we couldn't commit but now we're releasing it at the last second because we think we might be able to win an Oscar" releases. They just reinforce all the bad patterns of the Oscar circus and the studio mandated film ghettos.

The Alien-Loving Producers Guild

The Producers Guild of America announced their motion picture nominations today and there’s something for everyone whether you like war films, science fiction, unimaginative triumph-of-the-spirit exercizes, comedies, contemporary dramas or toons. The award is named after Darryl F. Zanuck who himself could claim to have brought a little something for everyone to the screens over his seemingly everlasting career (all the way from the silent era to the early 70s)

the nominees
AVATAR James Cameron & Jon Landau
DISTRICT 9 Carolynne Cunningham & Peter Jackson
AN EDUCATION Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey
THE HURT LOCKER tba
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Lawrence Bender
INVICTUS Clint Eastwood, Rob Lorenz, Lori McCreary & Mace Neufeld
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE Lee Daniels, Gary Magness & Sarah Siegel-Magness
STAR TREK J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof
UP Jonas Rivera
UP IN THE AIR tba

The PGA has always swung more populist in their nominations than Oscar so, despite what you'll read elsewhere, don’t expect all three of their science fiction nominees to transfer to Oscar’s top ten. People are so excitable. You know they'll start saying it.

Though this guild may be making a devout effort to supress the Academy’s science fiction allergies history doesn't suggest that Oscar will budge much. Unless I've made an accounting error (possible) only 3 sci-fi films have ever been nominated for Best Picture: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial(1982) and Star Wars (1977) and A Clockwork Orange (1971). Nope... Close Encounters, Blade Runner, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (among other sci-fi classics) were passed over. Look it up! It's arguably the Academy's least favorite genre -- fantasy and even horror seem easier to find in their archives.

Even with their animated nominees the PGA tilted sci-fi embracing the otherwise shunned "9" (which hasn't been racking up the raves or the pre-season honors) in their field of five. The other nominees are expected Oscar favorites: Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog and Up.
*

The Satellites Have Launched. What Are They Orbiting?

The Satellites (formerly Golden) have announced their 2009 nominations for what it's worth. And you might be screaming "not very much".

It's hard to know what to make of this Golden Globe splinter group. There is never much of a narrative thread in their nominations. You can't sense from year to year a type of film they like or whatnot. Which makes them feel a bit suspect. They also do very strange things which you're about to see if you read their nominations. They never get much attention and yet they keep plugging away. This year they were especially kind to 2012 (who knew?), Nine and The Stoning of Soraya M. But they were downright rude to the sci-fi drama Moon which received zero nominations despite their lack of aversion to sci-fi films. I mention this because the moon is a natural satellite and the Satellites are artificial. Maybe they're jealous. What they're orbiting we know not.

Their Top Ten List...
Bright Star | An Education | (500) Days of Summer (not nominated in their best picture categories)| The Hurt Locker | Inglourious Basterds (not nominated in their best picture categories) | Nine | Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire | A Serious Man | The Stoning of Soraya M. | Up in the Air

• I like looking at top ten lists -- even artificial ones -- because I like seeing the curveballs. The Stoning of Soraya M is definitely it. Note to self: watch the screener. But a top ten list is not enough... there's also several best picture categories. Everyone is a winner!

Best Motion Picture (Drama)
Bright Star | An Education | The Hurt Locker | The Messenger | Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire | The Stoning of Soraya M.

Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical)
The Informant! | It’s Complicated | Julie & Julia | Nine | A Serious Man | Up in the Air

• This particular lineup is actually feasible as a Golden Globe prospect as well. But the Globes are hard to predit. We'll see.
  

Best Motion Picture (Animated or Mixed Media)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Fantastic Mr. Fox | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | The Princess and the Frog | Up | Where the Wild Things Are

Best Documentary Feature
The Beaches of Agnes | The Cove | Every Little Step | It Might Get Loud | The September Issue | Valentino: The Last Emperor

Best Foreign Language Film
Broken Embraces | I Killed My Mother (Canada's Oscar submission) | The Maid | Red Cliff | The White Ribbon (Germany's Oscar submission) | Winter in Wartime (The Netherlands Oscar submission)

Best Director
Jane Campion, Bright Star | Neill Blomkamp, District 9 | Lone Scherfig, An Education | Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker | Rob Marshall, Nine | Lee Daniels, Precious

• The best director citation for first timer Neill Blomkamp (District 9) is straight up bizarre even if you think he's deserving. His film didn't make their top ten list or any of their best picture lists, not even Mixed Media! What's up with that?
  

Best Actress (Drama)
Shohreh Aghdashloo, The Stoning of Soraya M. | Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria | Abbie Cornish, Bright Star | Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces | Carey Mulligan, An Education | Catalina Saavedra, The Maid

• No Sidibe but they gave her a special prize. Aside from Mulligan they ignored the expected Oscar competitors
  

Best Actor (Drama)
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart | Hugh Dancy, Adam | Johnny Depp, Public Enemies | Colin Firth, A Single Man | Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker | Michael Sheen, The Damned United

• I knew that somebody would mention Johnny Depp. He's too big of a star for all of the star hungry awards groups to ignore. Will the Globes be able to resist this mega wattage?
  

Best Actress (Comedy Or Musical)
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal | Marion Cotillard, Nine | Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer | Katherine Heigl, The Ugly Truth | Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

• I can't really see this lineup repeating at the Globes. We're probably in for a Streep two-fer. And the Globes have always been fond of Michelle Pfeiffer so it'll be interesting to see if they go for Chéri. But they probably won't given the lack of campaigning.
  

Best Actor (Comedy Or Musical)
George Clooney, Up in the Air | Bradley Cooper, The Hangover | Matt Damon, The Informant! | Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine | Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

• As we know the studio requested Up in the Air to compete in "Drama" at the Globes. But the Globes aren't required to do as the studio says. Though they usually do. Also it's worth noting here that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was left out despite driving (500) Days so effortlessly to its most whimsical and its most painful moments. That's a shame. It's also tremendously weird that it's considered one of the ten best movies of the year but not one of the six best comedies, even though half of the competition there did not make the top ten list.
  

Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, Sunshine Cleaning| Penelope Cruz, Nine | Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air | Mozhan Marno, The Stoning of Soraya M. | Mo’nique, Precious

• er.... Emily Blunt as a double nominee? Weirdness. I guess they really want her to show up at the ceremony.
  

Best Supporting Actor
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger | James McAvoy, The Last Station | Alfred Molina, An Education | Timothy Spall, The Damned United | Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

• I'm curious if anyone or anything from The Messenger is able to get any Oscar traction. In some ways Woody Harrelson might be an ideal candidate for AMPAS notice given the year he's having with a big hit Zombieland and given the nature of this here role. But the film is teeny-tiny and that's what the Indie Spirits were created to honor.
  

Best Original Screenplay
Jane Campion, Bright Star | Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer | Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker | Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man | Bob Peterson and Pete Docter, Up

• This list seems very likely to repeat all the way to Oscar
  

Best Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, District 9 | Nick Hornby, An Education | Nora Ephron, Julie & Julia | Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious | Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

• Yet more kudos for District 9 which has excellent everything... but is not excellent itself! Please note that Satellite distinction. I hadn't really thought about Julie & Julia as an Oscar threat in this category. But maybe the industry would like to honor sometime hit maker Nora Ephron?
  

Best Art Direction
Terry Gilliam, Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | Nathan Crowley, Patrick Lumb and William Ladd Skinner, Public Enemies | Eddy Wong, Red Cliff | Chris Kennedy, The Road | Ian Philips and Dan Bishop, A Single Man | Barry Chusid and Elizabeth Wilcox, 2012

• I am perplexed all over the place. 2012? It's nice to see foreign films like Red Cliff honored but on the other hand, it just opened. And all awards groups tend to have that "we just saw it!" problem. Which is one of the many reasons that studios make your life miserable with the waiting. Would that all awards voters would take their jobs seriously and keep lists of great stuff all year that they could consider once it's time to vote.
  

Best Cinematography
Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds | Guillermo Navarro and Erich Roland, It Might Get Loud | Dion Beebe, Nine | Dante Spinotti, Public Enemies | Lu Yue and Zhang Yi, Red Cliff | Roger Deakins, A Serious Man

• Inglourious... I'd be very happy to see Richardson honored at the Oscars but I have so many doubts. They passed over his beyond excellent work on Kill Bill. It could happen again. I think Beebe is winning the eventual Oscar.
  

Best Costume Design
Consolata Boyle, Cheri
Monique Prudhomme, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Colleen Atwood, Nine
Tim Yip, Red Cliff
Sandy Powell, The Young Victoria

• Chéri... yay!
  

Best Film Editing
Julian Clarke, District 9
Chris Innis and Bob Murawski, The Hurt Locker
Greg Finton, It Might Get Loud
Claire Simpson and Wyatt Smith, Nine
Angie Lam, Yang Hongyu and Robert A. Ferretti, Red Cliff
David Brenner and Peter S. Elliot, 2012

• They really liked this It Might Get Loud doc. Unfortunately they also really liked 2012 all over the place. Like Red Cliff that just opened which might explain the fervor.
  

Best Original Score
Gabriel Yared, Amelia
Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant!
Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies
Michael Giacchino, Up
Rolfe Kent, Up in the Air
Carter Burwell and Karen O, Where the Wild Things Are

• Yared's Amelia score annoyed the crap out of me. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come but then it is a very LOUD and IMPORTANT SOUNDING and EMOTIONAL CUE type score so maybe the Oscar's music branch will go for it. They Like It Loud.
  

Best Original Song
“The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart (T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham)
“We are the Children of the World” from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Terry Gilliam)
“Cinema Italiano” from Nine (Maury Yeston)
“I See in Color” from Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Mary J. Blige)
“Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog (Randy Newman)
“Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog (Randy Newman)

• I suppose I should just say it. I H-A-T-E "Cinema Italiano"... it's a blight on the otherwise fine Yeston Nine score. The other new number "Take It All" is much stronger as songs go.
  

Best Sound (Mixing and Editing)
It Might Get Loud | Nine | Red Cliff | Terminator Salvation | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | 2012

Best Visual Effects
District 9 | Fantastic Mr. Fox | The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | Red Cliff | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | 2012

• Basically they just decided on about 7-8 films to nominate for everything. In this way they're exactly like the Oscars... only in this way though.
  

And that's that!

Michael York in 2009 --->

But wait there's more. For no explicable reaon they mix up their nominations with awards without competitors. They're giving Best Ensemble to Nine, Outstanding New Talent to "Precious" herself Gabourey Sidibe (who I suspect will be splitting the "breakthrough" prizes at the other precursors with Carey Mulligan) and special achievement awards to Roger Corman, Roger Deakins (also a nominee, strange) and 70s star Michael York (Cabaret, Logan's Run) and his cheekbones. Those babies do deserve an "Artistic Contribution" prize.

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Wild Things Overheard at the Cinema

Earlier today Nick overheard some things at the Chicago Film Festival which had me LOLing. I can't really compete with those choice bits but I do love to eavesdrop at the cinema. Exiting Where the Wild Things Are last night, I heard the following:

Asian Girl to White Guy: Maybe I would have liked it better if it were in Chinese.

Um...

I have no idea what she meant by that either but it amused me. I tried to get closer for context -- yeah, I'm curious (aka annoying) like that -- but to no avail. Exiting the theater was mayhem.

But it reminded me of a hilarious / horrifying thing I overheard a couple months back. Those following my twitter feed will have already heard this but in the airport in August I witnessed the following exchange

Excited Guy #1: Hey, did you see District 9?
Less Excited Guy #2: Yeah.
Guy #1: Did you like it?
Guy #2: (long pause) It was good. But not good in that Independence Day way.

What's the last amusing or horrifying nugget you heard at the movie theater?

And while we're here, would you have liked Wild Things better in Chinese? (Although...who needs words really with that movie? Lance Acord, I love you!)
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Caution! District 9

I took my nephews* to see District 9 today. I'm always horrified when family members tell me they haven't been to the movies in __________ as if it's normal to go without cinema for long periods of time. It's Not! Or: It Shouldn't Be! So when I visit, I have to nudge them along. They picked the movie, their only criteria being "no romances and it can't be boring!"

The old lady in front of us in line said "the one with... oh, what's that called? The Sandra Bullock!"

Each ticket window was plastered with this sign.

District 9 was filmed with the hand held shooting style. This means that the picture is very shaky and can cause motion sickness. If you are prone to motion sickness please ask the cashier for additional movie choices.

Thank you!

I love the use of the definitive article before 'hand held shooting style' . So awkwardly specific. Would you ever read, "this movie was filmed with the technicolor" or "this movie was not formatted for your screen. It's in the letterbox" No... you wouldn't. I suddenly became curious if other cinemas in other towns were carrying warning labels on this film? Does your theater ever warn you away from ticket purchases? And if they're going to warn people away from what they're selling, shouldn't they maybe have more signs.

Caution! All About Steve was filmed with The Sandra Bullock. If you are averse to twinkly-eyed movie stars who never challenge themselves, please ask the cashier for additional movie choices.

Thank you!

Oh, and my nephews loved the movie but complained that there wasn't enough alien weaponry used versus kinds displayed. That's a gripe I never would have thought of but, then, I don't need explosions and mayhem to win my ticket money. I'm also on good terms with the romantic and boring.

*I felt guilty about taking my nephews to a violent R rated movie until I reminded myself that they are not toddlers anymore. It seems impossible that they're old enough to see this movie... How did this happen?

District 9 Vodcast Review

Didn't really mean to double up on vodcasting (vidcasting?) today but that's the way it shook out. Speaking of shaking things up....

District 9. And I don't just mean shaky-cam, though there's plenty of that. Films with no stars (unless you count producer Peter Jackson?) aren't really supposed to make the cover of Entertainment Weekly or win the box office (TBD) or be all the buzz rage. But I've now had two conversations with strangers in the past 48 hours about it. First, at a restaurant with the business men eating next to me and second, just now, as I ran into a friend with his friends who were on their way to it.

Everyone keeps asking "is it as good as they say?". I take it that the mythical "they" now means social media rather than critics. Or maybe it means "movie marketing department"? Though the movie is dangerously overhyped already, it's good. Katey liked it more than I but we both recommend. Minor spoilers ahead, though the big central twist is kind of given away in the trailer and in stills ... at least visually.